Ariana Grande Teaches Us the Importance of Mental Sobriety

Ariana Grande has had a long year.

Poor Ariana. Though she is so sweet and so passionate about her craft, she has been dealt with a lot of pain and heartache from last year until now. First, her concert in the Manchester Arena, United Kingdom experienced a suicide bombing attack, resulting in the deaths of 23 lives—1 being the bomber, and 22 being her fans. Then, her relationship with Mac Miller had ended—rumored around the breakup being due to his drug addiction. Shortly after Mac Miller, Grande began a relationship with and soon after was engaged to Pete Davidson. Later, she watches Mac Miller—someone who she still cared deeply about—lose his battle with his addiction. And just recently, Grande and Davidson ended their engagement.

Whoa. I just lost my breath just writing all of that out. Over the course of barely over a year, Ariana Grande had experienced heartbreak, death, shock and trauma. Grande has openly admitted that she didn’t take the time to care for herself, so all these circumstances—especially them being one after the other—all caused a great deal of depression to overcome Grande, in addition to her increased suffering of anxiety attacks.

Ariana Grande’s depression and anxiety shows us the importance of mental sobriety.

Every year, the entire country takes the time to observe Mental Health Awareness for a month. For this month, “Since 1949, Mental Health America and [its] affiliates across the country have led the observance of May…by reaching millions of people through the media, local events and screenings…mental health is something everyone should care about…”.[1]Now, mental health doesn’t just mean a person has mental issues; it goes beyond people acting “crazy”. Mental health is about the stability of your mind, body and soul; whether or not you are feeling some sort of balance in your mind, or if everything feels like it’s endlessly spinning out of control. There are so many people who suffer from chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and so many other various conditions and—most of the time—they don’t even know that it all deals with the sobriety of their minds. The more cluttered the mind, the more stressed the soul.

However, what Ariana has done is remarkable.

Instead of continuing to shield her pain from her family, friends and fans, Grande uses her platform to raise awareness to mental health, to discuss her battles with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to encourage others to never hesitate if they ever need to reach out for help. When responding to a fan who was curious about a song entitled Get Well Soon on her new album Sweetener, Grande tweeted:

“[It’s about] my anxiety. I felt like I was floating for like 3 months last year and not in a nice way. Like I [was] outside of my body? [It] was very scary and I couldn’t breathe well. So, it’s about that. And lots of voice in my head singing. I hope it comforts people who hear it please” [2]

Through her music, Grande makes herself extremely vulnerable with her suffering, and this openness she is sharing with the world has been creating a chain reaction. When fans see that their favorite celebrities are advocating for mental health, they feel less alone. Typically, because a person is rich and famous, we feel as though it is impossible for them to feel any sort of negative emotion; we forget that these celebrities are human too. We all need to continuously pay attention to the health of our minds, bodies and souls in order to live a healthy and sober life.

About Deiona Monroe

I have always been told that I'm a great storyteller and that the words I craft are even better. So, I finally decided to share both with the world. I write not only to tell a story, but to show you how these events have made me into the woman I am today. To ensure that, as a writer, my words remain not only strong, but authentic as well. Through storytelling, my ultimate goal is to positively impact lives, using the lessons I have been exposed to and learned from, hopefully educating and helping other through their battles.